The Crossover
by hiholly123
Summary: When a dimensional rip opens up in Artemis's world, he and his new aquaintences must fight to get home. Literally - fight. *Currently re-working, see the last chapter for info*
1. Chapter 1

Hello FG FanFiction!

I, hiholly123, now present to you the REDONE and pretty much NEW Crossover fic!

*cheers, confetti*

Of course, anyone on , you wouldn't have seen the original Crossover. And really, you don't want to. XD

Ahem. This story will combine all of your favorite book series' and single novels into one epicly awesome story. Listed below are the book series I will be using in this fic, as well as which time in the series this takes place. The time will drastically affect how the fic is done, so if you would like to suggest a series for me to put in, make sure you have a time in the series picked out.

Yes, like I have already said, you may suggest book series (or single novels!) for me to read and then add into The Crossover. When I have read up to that book I'll put the name in this list.

Because of the nature of this fic, it's NEVER too late to suggest a book series or single novel for me to read and add in. Unless, of course, it's the end of the fic. When the entire fic is done, I'll post in the beginning of this to make sure everyone knows.

As for characters, well, it's pretty safe to assume that every major character in the series will be involved. If not, then I have my reasons.

Also! I will be posting The Crossover in four to five separate parts. I'll be putting the list of books in the first chapter of every part, and each part will have a name. Make sure you check the _real_ first chapter (aka, the _second_ chapter in each part) for the name.

Here's the list, and please R&R my updates! :D

**Artemis Fowl: **After The _Atlantis Complex_. Any familiar characters or places go to Eoin Colfer.

**Maximum Ride: **Between books three and four - _Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports_ and _The Final Warning. _Any familiar characters or places go to James Patterson.

**Percy Jackson and the Olympians:** After _The Last Olympain_ - book five. Any familiar characters or places go to Rick Riordan.

**The Inheritance Cycle (Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr):** After _Eldest - _book 2. Any familiar characters or places go to Christopher Paolini.

**The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (The Alchemist, The Magician, ect.): **After _The Sorceress_ - book 3. Any familiar characters or places go to Michael Scott.

**Harry Potter: **After book five - _The Order of the Phoenix._ Any familiar characters or places go to J.K. Rowling.

**The Hunger Games: **After the first book, _The Hunger Games._ Any familiar characters or places go to Suzanne Collins.

**Pendragon: **Right after the sixth book, _The Rivers of Zadaa._ Any familiar characters or places go to D.J. MacHale.

**The Uglies Trilogy:** Right after the third book, _Specials._ Any familiar characters or places go to Scott Westerfield.

**The Mortal Instruments:** After book two, _City of Ashes._ Any familiar characters or places go to Cassandra Clare.

**Alex Rider: **After book one, _Stormbreaker._ Any familiar characters or places go to Anthony Horowitz.

I recommend you read all of these books, just by the way. :)

Stay tuned!

**Chapter 1:**

**Maximum Ride**

Nudge dipped directly over my head.

"Watch it!" I laughed, dropping lower and almost into the lake. We were trying to relax after a nightmare experience with my so-called "mother". Turns out mad scientists are big fans of bird kids. Like me and my Flock.

The worst part was, Ari was dead.

But no, I wouldn't think about it. I was enjoying time with my flock, diving over a smooth lake and stretching my wings without any limit. Fang swooped underneath me, Gazzy and Angel built sand castles on shore, and Iggy, Nudge and I were flying with Fang. Total, Angel's talking dog (it still felt weird to say that) was curled up on the sand, snoring noisily.

"Look at this seashell, Max!" Angel called. She waved at me from her crouched position on the beach. I flapped my wings a few more times, relishing in the feeling, and then dropped gracefully down to join her.

Angel clutched a brown-spotted seashell, all white except for a few tan dots. "That's pretty, sweetie," I said. "Are you going to keep it?"

She smiled. "Of course. It's so beautiful, don't you think?"

"Absolutely," I replied, and ruffled her light blond hair. "I'm going up with the others, okay?"

Her smile grew wider, her eyes wide and bright, like a normal six-year-old girl's.

Oh, and for those of you that don't know, Angel can read minds.

Whoever's great idea it was to mutate children must've not thought about the side effects. Let's see...Iggy was blind, Angel could read minds (plus project thoughts into other people's heads and breathe underwater), Gazzy could imitate voices, Fang could blend into any background at will, and I had a Voice in my head. Other than that, Nudge and I were the only normal ones.

And Total, the talking dog. Right.

I got a running start, which is always best, and shot right up into the air, wings flapping strongly. I could feel the energy and power with every movement. Truly amazing.

I brought myself right up to Fang's side. "Hey," he said. His wings - so dark they looked purple - flashed darkly in the shining beach sunlight.

"Hi," I replied, sounding happy for the first time in a while. "Are you liking the beach?"

He winced. We'd had our share of bad times at the beach, but he nodded. "Yeah. It's so war-" he was abruptly cut off by a buzzing sound. Something in my gut shifted, and I was expecting it when Nudge yelped, "Flyboys!"

The robot Erasers (dog-man hybrids with _wings_) were coming at us in a swarm.

"I thought those things were gone!" I snarled, and dove right at the on-coming army. I kneed a Flyboy in the chest and it made a hollow _bang_ sound. But it was driven back into its fellow robots, sending at least ten tumbling backwards. When they fell from the sky and into the lake, I saw how enormous the army really was, and dropped downwards a few feet.

"Run!" I shouted, and I saw Angel and Gazzy take off from the ground. Total was wide awake and startled, being carried in Angel's protective arms.

Iggy, despite his blindness, had an incredible sense of direction, just like us other avian-human mutations. Plus he had great senses as well. So he obviously didn't get lost, and actually went ahead of me.

We started to leave, but the Flyboys were a lot faster than I remembered. A solid kick planted itself into my back, forcing me downward and driving all the air from my lungs.

I struggled for air, only able to breathe when I was about fifty feet from the lake. A close shave. Shuddering, I lifted myself back up. I didn't stop to catch my breath totally. Instead I shot myself at a group of Flyboys circling Gazzy. His forehead was wrinkled, and his fists were curled so tight that the knuckles were white. He threw a punch at a Flyboy, and sparks flew. The circle closed in.

I let out a battle cry and twisted so that I was practically drilling into the already damaged Flyboy. Gazzy turned around to face his other attackers and started fighting furiously. I joined him, angrily kicking and elbowing Flyboys until the small group around the two of us was nothing but separate chunks of sparking metal dropping rapidly into the now-churning lake.

Frowning grimly, I glanced around and discovered how badly we were outnumbered. The robots seemed to be appearing out of thin air. Hundreds of them. Maybe thousands.

Crap.

I heard a cry, and saw a Flyboy had Nudge by the neck. Her light brown skin was growing paler by the second as the air was strangled out of her.

"Let her go!" I screamed, and ripped the Flyboy off of her. Nudge spiraled back, gasping for air. But we didn't have time to relax. She'd have to join in again soon enough.

A shout of pain came from my right. But the Flyboy that had tried to choke Nudge was still in the game. I had to help the Flock member in pain, but I couldn't move because if I did, the Flyboy would probably go after Nudge again.

We were stuck, and desperate.

"Max!" I heard Angel's voice screech. I saw her, struggling to free herself from a Flyboy's iron grip. It had her hands behind her back, facing her downward. Her little white wings fluttered hopelessly. I felt a wave of cold fear in the pit of my stomach.

And then a Flyboy took me, slamming two solid palms into my temples. Everything flashed, and I toppled from the sky. I had been so focused on my Flock, I hadn't helped myself. I heard more voices calling my name. Screaming and begging for me to wake up and _fly already!_ But I couldn't move at all.

The pain was incredible, sprouting in the left side of my brain and spreading quickly to my entire head. I felt like I was floating, but yet there was solid ground under my feet. And then, under my face.

"Max!" a voice cried. It was Nudge's voice. I felt myself being turned over, and I could suddenly move. Blink. I saw her concerned face, brown eyes wide as she leaned over me.

I suddenly realized I was lying in a mud puddle.

"What happened?" I slurred, able to sit up and clutch my head. There were mutters all around me. I wasn't stable enough to understand them. I saw that there were trees all around us, and thick, wet grass.

Finally, one calm voice stood out. Fang.

"We don't know," he said. "We all passed out in mid-air once you hit the lake."

_Funny, _I thought, despite the angry pain's protest. _I didn't feel a splash._

"My wings," I said. I found that they were folded against my back like they usually were. As were the rest of the Flock's. "They're not..."

"Out?" Iggy finished grimly. "We know. We all just ended up here, walking in the rain."

Oh. It was raining. I felt it misting my face now. "That's what it feels like. We just got here...wherever here is."

"Do you think the white-coats brought us here?" Gazzy asked worriedly. "The Flyboy's got us and then they collected us from the lake and took us here?"

I shook my head. The headache slowly faded. "I don't think so. How would we have ended up walking?"

"They drugged us, maybe," Total suggested, talking for the first time in a while. A record for him. "I hate being drugged."

"Maybe," I groaned as I was helped to my feet by Fang and Nudge. Angel was peering worriedly at me from Fang's side. "What do you guys say we go find out where we are?" Seeing their exchanged looks, I added, "I can walk."

"Okay, let's go," Iggy said quickly, and started scrambling through the undergrowth. We followed him, trying to be encouraging as he tripped clumsily over roots and knots in the grass. But encouraging was too much of an effort, and we were all exhausted from our battle, and sudden appearance here.

We must have stumbled along for an hour at least before we emerged into a thinner area. I dropped to my knees, eyesight fuzzy. I usually held up a lot better than this. I wondered briefly what was wrong with me, but I was interrupted by Angel's whisper.

"There's somebody close by," she warned, almost breathing it. "I can hear his mind."

_A person?_ I puzzled. _Out here in the woods?_

Of course, us bird-children had to talk. We were out here, too.

"I'd say ten feet," she whispered next.

"Let's take a look," I said, and shuffled forward on hands and knees. Everyone crouched down in the same fashion and we all caught a peek at the person - the 'he' - out in the woods with us.

It turns out, the woods ended right where we were.

In front of us stretched a _huge_ lawn with dark, healthy grass. Woods enclosed the yard. There was no need for a fence. And holding the lawn captive was a gigantic mansion, the biggest I'd ever seen. It seemed to be made of all stone, and _really, really_ old, but I saw a security camera hanging onto one of the walls. Luckily, pointed away from us.

And the person that Angel had sensed was a boy.

He looked about fifteen - the same age as Iggy, Fang, and I - but the fancy suit he wore made him look a year older. I wondered why he was wearing such a nice suit, and why he was wearing it in the _rain._ I mean, come on. If you were going to wear a fancy-schmancy suit, then why ruin it in the rain?

He had slick raven-black hair, and skin almost as white as paper. His eyes were closed so I couldn't tell what color they were. I took a glance at his back. Okay, no wings. His hands dangled limply at his sides, and his head was titled upward, embracing the fat drops falling on him.

Beside me, Angel shrunk back. I took this as a bad sign and reached for her hand. She accepted it gladly.

"What is it?" I asked her.

She made a little, almost inaudible, sigh, looking troubled. "He's so...sad," she whispered, nearly whimpering. "Or...guilty, I think. Guilty is a better word."

"Why?" I asked, instantly suspicious. He was only a teenager - and not that bad-looking if I did say so myself - but he could still do some bad stuff. What if he was a white-coat's son? A scientist's boy? That would explain the nice house. Maybe he had seen the experiments and felt bad. "What did he do?"

Angel took a moment, and then frowned. "I don't know. He doesn't like to think about it."

_Definitely a white-coat's boy,_ I thought.

"No," Angel answered out loud. "I don't think so."

"What's his name?" Gazzy piped up softly, a curious but careful edge to his voice.

Angel concentrated for a moment, before replying, "It's-"

She was suddenly interrupted by a sliding glass door opening, and a voice calling out, "Artemis!"

Angel gave a tiny, acknowledging nod, and then gave a gesture for us to listen.

The boy dropped his head so that it was a normal level. "Yes?" he asked with a thick Irish accent.

"Come inside, dear, Myles wants some tutoring in math."

The teenager's eyes opened. I saw a light blue one. "No."

The woman's voice grew more commanding, but also more desperate. "Arty, I only put one four on it! And I made sure none of the answers came out to-"

"I'm not doing it!" the Artemis guy practically shouted. His voice broke slightly. And then he winced. "Doctor Argon said doing math isn't going to help right now."

The voice, probably his mom, said then, "Well, your father and I think maybe you should work on it anyway."

"You work with Myles," Artemis growled with clenched fists. "In a few months, maybe I'll..." He faltered.

"What's his deal with math?" I whispered to Angel. "I mean, I hate it too, but he's, like, scared of it."

She nodded slowly. "Yeah," she said sadly. "He is."

I couldn't ponder over that because Artemis's mom started talking again.

"Well, you better come inside or you'll get a cold," she cautioned. "Ten minutes." The door closed. Artemis sighed and crossed his arms.

There was a long dragging silence while he stared into the forest. Luckily, not in our direction. Longing lit at his eyes (even though I could only see one) and his mouth was a determined gash. Then, after a good five minutes, he let his arms fall to his sides again, and he bowed his head, closing his eyes.

Angel closed her's, too, clearly reading his thoughts. She whispered out loud so that we also knew what he was thinking.

"...She's not coming." A look of extreme sadness came over her face. "He was waiting for someone," she informed us softly, "a girl named Holly. She didn't come." Without another word, Angel stood up.

"What are you-" I started to ask, but Artemis was already turned toward us, a strange expression on his face. Half shocked, half tense.

"Who are you?" he demanded coldly. His voice didn't fit his expression. He was calculating when he spoke, instead of ready to fight like he should have been. I could see both of his eyes now, and I noticed that they were mis-matched. One blue, one brown. Like an alley cat, maybe.

An alley cat in a suit.

I swept Gazzy behind me, and tried to take Angel, too, but she dodged me and stepped forward.

"I know you're having trouble," she said, loudly enough so that he would clearly understand that she meant no harm. "But we're friends."

He shook his head. A few strands of hair were blown loose by a gust of wind. They fell across his single hazel eye. "I do not know you," he replied in the same fashion. I thought it was weird how he kind of over-said everything.

"Okay," Angel said warmly, beaming hopefully. Hoping that whatever was wrong with him and math, she could amend it. Or at least that's what I thought. I mean, c'mon, I'm not the mind-reader here. "I'm Angel," she finished.

All of a sudden, I was struck with a crippling headache. I gritted my teeth, but my vision went black for a few seconds. When it came back, everyone was staring at me, especially Artemis. His fingers were at his temples. He looked disheveled, to say the least.

"Headache," he managed, and then fought to stand up straight. "I am Artemis Fowl the second." He raised an eyebrow, his composure returned. "Perhaps you should come inside."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:  
>Maximum Ride<strong>

I don't know why he wanted us to come with him. Maybe it was the fact that Angel had offered to help him. Maybe it was because we were six rough-looking kids and their dog on their own, and he sympathized. Him and all his guilt. Or maybe it was just that we had both had a skull-splitting headache at the same time. Who knows?

To say the least, the Flock and I were ready to go to bed.

_Keep an eye on his thoughts, _I thought hard at Angel. _Tell us if he plans on capturing us or something._

"He doesn't," she whispered so that he couldn't hear. We stood outside the door while he opened it. "He partly wants to help us, to make up for what he did. And he partly wants to know about the headache."

Ah. Headaches - the mystery of crazy people.

The door slid open with nothing but a sigh. Artemis didn't bother to let us in first, he just swung himself inside with a small step. We followed him, exchanging nervous glances.

I couldn't help but gasp when I saw what was inside.

High ceilings, lush staircases, thick carpet and gleaming linoleum. The kitchen had shining counters, and the dining room had a huge, absolutely clean wood table. The living room was just ahead, with comfy leather couches, fabric chairs, and charcoal black coffee tables.

"Who're you?" a small voice cried. I saw a golden-curled head pop out from behind a chair. I saw a plastic sword in his right hand. He couldn't have been more than two or three.

"Stand back!" another, almost exactly alike voice proclaimed. It was another toddler, this one holding a shield. "We're armed!"

Artemis tapped his foot, looking annoyed and a touch angry. "Myles, Beckett," he snapped. "Go upstairs. It's your bedtime!"

They both pouted, looking almost exactly the same. "Mummy loves us best!" Myles shrieked. "She does math with me!" And then he and his brother raced away. I saw Artemis flinch, but he quickly recovered and led us into the living room further.

"Don't mind the twins," he muttered. "They're a little wild."

Iggy snickered. "A little?" he teased. Artemis didn't laugh.

"Please," he invited. "Make yourselves comfortable."

I grinned and plopped my dirty, mud-stained self into the nicest chair he had. He didn't do anything though, so it was kind of a waste. Nearby, Angel and Gazzy carefully but tiredly lowered themselves onto the big leather couch. I saw Angel was still holding Total tightly. Fang, Iggy, and Nudge sat down in three separate leather reclining chairs. I leaned back in mine and closed my eyes.

Seconds later, I heard high heels clipping excitedly on tile. I turned my head and opened my eyes to see a woman just a little taller than Artemis with light, bouncy blond hair, like the little boy Beckett. She was in a pretty blue blouse and dress pants. Apparently the Fowls never relaxed.

"Hello!" she exclaimed. "Oh, you're all so dirty. Don't worry about the furniture," she added, seeing Angel shift awkwardly. "We can clean it up." A smile lit up the woman's face. "We're happy to help you all."

There was one remaining chair, which she pulled a little closer and sat down in. Literally on the edge of her seat. "So how did you all come to be at Fowl Manor?" she ventured hopefully.

To tell or not to tell? That is the question.

"We're runaways," Nudge blurted. Well, okay. I guess that was true. Runaways from evil scientists, at least. "I don't know how we ended up here. None of us do."

Nudge and her blabbering mouth. I sighed.

"Mother, leave them be," Artemis scolded, stepping into my view. He was still wearing his suit. Ah, so this was his mom. She narrowed her eyes at him, looking intimidating despite her earlier happiness.

"Mum, Arty," she corrected. "Mum."

He didn't blush, but his eyes hardened. "Yes. Mum. Leave them be, they just got here." Then he turned directly to me. "I have a few rooms ready for you." He saw Total. "And the dog."

I could tell how much that annoyed Total, but he kept his fat Scottie mouth shut.

"I don't know if we should stay," I said sharply. "Like she said, we don't even know where we are."

Artemis's face took on a rock-solid look. Like steel. Cold, emotionless - if furious - steel. "Fowl Manor, Ireland," he snapped. "Upstairs. Now."

Mrs. Fowl went white. "Arty," she began, all nice. But he turned to her and I saw a frightened look cross his eyes. It was almost instantly replaced with anger. She dropped it. "Yes," she finished instead. "Maybe we should all go to bed." She flashed a smile at us. "Artemis will show you to your rooms, dears." She got up and walked off. When she passed her son, she gave him a brief kiss on the head. He didn't respond, other than to wilt a little.

Then he was all business, and waved us to follow him up the winding staircase.

The first room was for the boys - Fang, Iggy, and Gazzy. Everything was gray. The bedsheets, the carpet, and the curtains. The rest was white. The three beds looked exactly alike.

"Party!" Gazzy called half-heartedly, and climbed up on his bed to jump. But when he got in, he just plopped down on the pillow, eyes closed. Fang snorted, and took off his shoes at the door. Iggy looked uncomfortable just standing there, not knowing what was going on.

"You're bed's at three o'clock," I whispered. "Gray covers, white sheets, white pillow. The carpet's shag. And it's white." He nodded and started to walk over. "Iggy!" I hissed. "Take off your shoes!"

He frowned, stopped where he was, and kicked them over at the wall. He practically missed the bed, but managed to get under the covers. Artemis raised his eyebrows, but he didn't say anything.

Angel - with Total still in her arms, Nudge, and I followed Artemis to the adjacent room. There, pretty much everything was a clean cream color. Very pretty.

"You can all take showers in the morning," Artemis said stiffly, standing in the doorway while we picked our beds and took off our shoes. He shot a long look at my muddy clothes. "Ah...what is your name?"

I rolled my eyes. "Max."

"Max. You should probably take one now. No matter what she says, my mother does mind if you're dirty."

"Don't you mean your _mum_?" I asked snarkily. He scowled at me.

"No," he sniffed. "I don't. The bathroom is across the hall. Use it." He walked - practically stomped - out the door, slamming it behind him.

Angel shook her head sadly. "Max," she said softly. "Don't."

I twisted to face her. "Why not?" I demanded.

She sighed heavily. "He's unstable."

I was about to yell, 'What's that supposed to mean?' but Nudge interrupted. "Why don't you go take that shower and get some clean clothes?" she suggested.

It suddenly sounded like a good idea, so I nodded and crept across the hall to the bathroom.

Everything was super-shiny-clean. I imagined Artemis's mom with a sponge and a bucket, furiously scrubbing the floor. It made me laugh. They probably had maids, though, so it was sort of a waste.

I peeled off my muddy clothes and sighed as the hot water touched my skin. We hadn't been clean - really clean - for weeks. I felt like I could just drop down on the shower floor and sleep. But I didn't.

Mrs. Fowl has some fruity smelling shampoo. I rubbed it into my hair, followed by the baby-powder-scented conditioner. It was a surprisingly good combo.

When I stepped reluctantly out of the shower, dripping wet, there was a perfectly white, fluffy towel waiting for me. _Okay,_ I thought as I wrapped up in it. _I've died and gone to heaven._ I dried off to see a pair of fleece pajama pants and a loose white shirt on the counter. I pulled them on and practically floated back to the room I shared with Nudge, and Angel.

Both were wide-eyed and sitting up in bed when I came into the room.

"Hey," I said. "You guys should be asleep."

Angel slowly shook her head. "We were talking," she murmured, stroking Total. He wasn't asleep either, but his eyes were closed.

I quickly shut the door behind me. "About what?"

Nudge gathered the covers around her and snuggled deeper under them. "Artemis," she whispered. "He's kind of weird. Scary weird," she added. "Angel was reading his thoughts."

I crawled into bed, exhausted but willing to listen. "Okay," I sighed. "What kind of weirdo house have we ended up in now?"

Angel took a deep breath, steeling herself, and then began to narrate Artemis's thoughts.

"He's thinking, 'why didn't she come?'" Angel said softly. "And 'did I do something wrong?' He doesn't know if she hates him or not. He was looking forward to today for a long time." The six-year-old's expression suddenly turned from slightly sad to absolutely shocked. "He..." she choked. "He wished he hadn't kidnapped her."

Nudge's eyes went super wide and she slid farther into the shelter of the comforter. "He kidnapped her?"

Angel nodded, clearly disturbed.

"Wait, wait," I blurted. "We're staying in the house of a _kidnapper?_ What _happened_?"

Angel paused for a long moment, trying to sift out the memory from Artemis's brain. "It looks like he caught her somewhere and locked her up in his basement." She whimpered. "Max, I'm scared."

"Me too," Nudge whispered.

"Let's see what he's doing," I suggested after a few minutes. "Maybe we can find out a little more."

"Max, I don't think that's-" Angel started to say, but I was already up and out of bed. I flicked off of the light, sending Nudge farther under the covers. Angel however, gently pushed Total away from her and followed me, eyes sad and frightened. "Don't worry baby," I told her quietly. "We'll deal with this."

Eventually we coaxed Nudge out of the room with promises of a good midnight flight. My wings ached with longing at the process, and I knew Artemis wouldn't be looking out the window, expecting three kids with wings to be spying on him.

For me it had only seemed like a few minutes, but when I saw the clock I was surprised. It was already nearly one in the morning. We were out late tonight. Good, because the entire manor was silent.

The huge front doors were oiled and opened without a creak. Everything looked blue and silver in the moonlight. Nobody was up so far, Angel had told me.

"Ready?" I breathed as I carefully shut the doors. Nudge's face lit up, as if fully believing that we were going to fly now. She nodded eagerly. Angel followed suit, but with more uncertainty. "Okay," I said. "Up and away."

I got a good running start - as is best - and unfurled my wings as I jumped. I flapped them and felt the feathers align. They happily caught the wind and sent me shooting up. I almost laughed, but my good sense told me somebody might wake up if I did.

Underneath me, Angel and Nudge were lifting off. Angel's wings seemed to glow, they were such a brilliant white. Nudge's face was blissful. She loved to fly. We all did.

We met up again after a few relaxing circles and Angel found Artemis's window for us.

"He's asleep now," she said surely. "Everyone is except for us."

I nodded. "Good. Let's go." It felt empty without the rest of the flock with us, but I was satisfied with knowing they were - hopefully - safe inside. We meandered hesitantly to Artemis's window and peered in.

He had a huge bed, and a neat desk. They were in opposite corners of his enormous room. I was met with a rush of jealousy, but I pushed it away. Envy wouldn't help us now.

On the desk I saw a piece of paper with a shaky, half-finished word on it. Angel reached for my hand and alighted on the window ledge to look closer.

After a few minutes she muttered, "It's a four."

"What?" I asked.

"Max," she whispered patiently. "He's not afraid of _numbers._ He's afraid of _fours._"

"What's wrong with fours?" I wondered, looking cautiously at the paper again. I could see the non-existent letters being written to finish the word - ur. F-O-U-R. Four. I could say it without a problem. But apparently he had a problem with it.

Angel closed her eyes and pressed her hands to the glass. Her wings quivered as she listened to his thoughts, and saw what he was dreaming.

Finally she opened her eyes. "He's paranoid," she mumbled. "And he feels guilty. He hates fours and can only make himself count in fives. That's what's wrong with him." She turned to me desperately. "He captured that Holly girl for gold, Max. His dad was missing and she had gold so he kidnapped her for ransom." I was impressed that she understood all that, but I didn't let it show.

"But what's wrong with fours?" I repeated. "Why doesn't he like them?"

Angel shrugged. "It sounds like the Chinese word for death," she replied. "He has OCD, too."

"Huh," I said. "We have a crazy kidnapping host. How fun."

Nudge leaned into me, her toes just barely on the ledge, wings beating to keep her up. "Max," she sighed. "What if he hurts us?"

I wrapped my arms around her. "He won't. I promise."

Angel nodded firmly.

"Ange," I said after a while, "How did you know all of that stuff if he wasn't thinking about it?"

She looked at me for a minute. "I just asked him and he told me."

"In his sleep?"

"I guess."

I frowned. Her powers were getting creepier by the minute. Not to mention that she wanted to be leader of the Flock. Just a minor detail there for you. "Well okay," I said. "Whatever."

I braced myself to dive off the ledge, when Angel suddenly gripped my arm and tugged me close.

"Angel," I gagged, surprised, but then I saw what she meant. Artemis was sitting up in bed, staring at us - namely, our _wings_ - with wide eyes. "Oh."

He mouthed something and pointed to each one of us - including him - in turn. _One, two, three..._he trailed off.

"Four!" I shouted, and took off.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thanks for all the hits, guys! I'm soooooo infinitely sorry I haven't updated in so long! I hope you can forgive me, since I added two new chapters. I have a few people I'd like to thank and reply to as well, so here goes.**

**15dragondream: Thanks, the idea was a long time in the making. I appreciate you reviewing, it really means a lot. And here's an update for you, so that's more to read! I hope you like it! :D I'm also really happy that you added this to your Story Alerts, I got so excited when the e-mail came! Sorry for the long wait!**

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**Disclaimer: If I owned any of the books I use at all in this series, I'd be extremely satisfied. But I don't, so I just have to be okay with writing fanfics.**

**^I'm going to be doing these every once and a while, not every chapter, just because I feel this gets pretty repetative. Don't sue, major companies! XD**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3:<strong>

**Maximum Ride**

The next morning we sat at the table in utter silence. Mr. Fowl - who told us his name was also Artemis - was sitting right next to his son. I wanted to laugh, 'mini-me!' but I figured it would rub Artemis the Second the wrong way. He wouldn't meet my eyes. Or any of the Flock's in fact. He picked at his muffin with a fork. Weirdo. I took a big bite just to show off.

Mrs. Fowl cheerily bit into her blueberry muffin and chattered to us about her work, while Myles and Beckett tried very hard to annoy their older brother.

"Arty, Arty!" Myles yelled. He was shushed by Mrs. Fowl, but he ignored her. Artemis clenched his fork tightly, and then threw it down on his plate. He then took a little bite, abandoning the good-boy approach.

"What, dear?" Mrs. Fowl answered for her oldest son.

"Tell Arty to talk to us!" Myles complained.

She didn't even try. "Not now, Myles," she said softly. "Artemis is eating his breakfast."

The two boys pouted over their failure and spilled muffin crumbs all over their pajama pants. Artemis was wearing a suit again, and so was Mr. Fowl. Everybody but us and the twins were picture-perfect and happy. Well, except for Artemis maybe.

"Mrs. Fowl, may I be excused?" Gazzy asked, as polite as I'd ever seen him. Also as clean as I'd ever seen him, considering he and the rest of us were all outfitted in nice new clothes.

Of course, we had immediately asked for scissors and secretly cut holes in the backs. Luckily, they weren't very noticeable, as long as we didn't stretch the fabric.

"Call me Angeline," she invited. "And yes, you can go." She smiled warmly as he jumped up, quickly followed by Angel. They sped off like their lives depended on it.

"You know," Mr. Fowl said after they were gone. "I never did learn your names."

There was an awkward silence, and then Fang decided to take up the introductions.

"I'm Fang," he greeted, taking a slurp out of his milk.

"My name's Iggy," Iggy grunted and then tore off a chunk of muffin to stuff in his mouth.

"Nudge," Nudge grinned.

"Max," I finished. "And those two that just went off are the Gasman and Angel."

Beckett giggled. "Gasman!" he laughed. "That's a funny name!"

"Yeah, well, he got it for a reason," Fang grumbled. I couldn't help but smile. "You can call him Gazzy."

"That's cute," Angeline chimed. "He's so sweet, too. All of you are."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Artemis glaring at me. I ignored him and offered Mrs. Fowl my most charming smile. "Thank you."

After that everyone gradually drifted away from the table until it was just me and Artemis, polishing off our muffins with relish. Or at least, I was.

It was just as I was lapping up the last drop of milk in my glass when he spoke. What surprised me wasn't that he spoke at all, just that it wasn't in his normal icy way. He actually sounded like a human being. Somewhat, anyway. There was still the clipped words thing.

"You are the leader, right?" he asked. Startled, I spotted him looking down at his muffin but not touching it. "Of all of you?"

"Um, I guess," I mumbled.

I detected a faint hint of a smile. I realized I hadn't seen him look even somewhat happy this entire time. This was all I'd seen from him that made me second guess the whole 'alley-cat-in-a-suit' thing.

"You guess, or you are?"

I cleared my throat, ready to get up and leave. I saw Fang standing at the corner, looking slightly anxious for me. I gave him a subtle sign to _leave right now you idiot._

He rolled his eyes but went away. I knew he would still be paying close attention to our conversation, though.

"I am," I answered Artemis's question. "I'm the leader."

He nodded slowly, finally meeting my eyes. "That's what I thought. Did you have a headache as I did when Angel introduced herself to me?"

I didn't know what to tell him. _Uh, yeah, I guess we're both crazy, hee-hee_, or _Pfft, what?_

I decided nothing would happen if I told him the truth except maybe some more weird looks, so I just said, "Yeah."

"Did you see anything when it happened?" he pressed, actually leaning in to get a better look at me. "Images?"

I raised my eyebrows. "No. Did you?"

His pale face went a little red. "Yes, I did actually." He paused. "Here, I'll show you." He got to his feet, the chair naturally scooting away from him. He glanced around to check that the coast was clear before hurrying off, with me cautiously at his tail.

The last glimpse I caught of my Flock was of them all gathered in the living room looking at pictures. I couldn't see what they were of, but nothing bad appeared to be happening, so I let it be. I was going to be keeping an eye on things, though. You better believe it.

Artemis rushed us up the stairs and down the hall, stopping at a white door. The knob had a keyhole on it, plus two padlocks and a retina scanner. I froze.

"Where did all this come from?" I gaped as Artemis scanned his blue eye and opened the door.

"I bought it," he replied briskly.

I blinked. "With _what?_ I mean, it's pretty obvious you're rich, but this is a little much." What I was really thinking was - _Why can't my room have all this stuff?_ I mean, security was a big issue with the Flock.

Except that, you know, I don't have an actual _room._ Kind of a flaw in the plan.

"The rest of the gold from the Fowl Manor siege," he muttered.

"_What?"_

"Nothing," he mumbled, and opened the door, exposing the full room to my peering eyes.

There were the bed and desk. I saw the paper had been disposed of, most likely tossed into the metal trashcan right by it. The bed was bigger than I remembered, and in the light I could see that the covers were a plain black. Like his suit.

He had his own closet and bathroom, and the closet door was slightly agape. I saw a jumbled mess of weird-looking helmets, sunglasses, and small containers of contacts. Kind of creepy if you ask me.

He shut the door. "Don't look at that."

"Whatever," I snorted, and sat heavily on his bed. He reached underneath the bed and tugged out a gleaming black laptop. He placed it carefully on the desk and opened it. It was already on.

His screensaver was a bunch of random symbols - acorns, mushroom things, and everything nature. He smiled grimly when he saw it, and cruised over to the internet. It opened, and up popped a pair of saved tabs.

He gestured to a picture displayed on one. It was a beautiful - if snowy - mountainside, with an icy river running through a valley of white. Kind of pretty, but nothing compared to the lake gleaming in the moonlight while my Flock and I flew gracefully above the gently rolling waves...

And there I was getting all sappy again. Oh well, what can you do?

"This is what you saw?" I guessed. He nodded, and then flipped to the next tab. I scrutinized it and then said, "Is that a black hole?"

"Yes," he responded. He opened a new page. "Actually, I was trying to find something called a dimensional rip, but it was fruitless. Nothing came up."

I hated to sound like in idiot, but I had to know. "Uh...what's a dimensional rip?"

I expected him to chuckle, but he just tapped the black hole picture, bringing it back up to the screen. "It is when two or more dimensions intertwine at once. It results in something of a paradox, except with dimensions. Imagine this as a _light_ hole instead of a _black_ hole. It is made of pure energy, unmatched by any natural being." He tapped his index finger absently on the table ten times.

Standing up to get a better look, I tried to imagine the black hole except _white_. All white. Nothing but bright, pure white light. All my energy sapped, resulting in a face plant in the woods behind a humongous mansion...

I gasped out loud. "I get it! We..." I leaned in more, and saw the computer screen flash white. I knew it was only me, though, because Artemis didn't say anything about it. "We went through a dimensional rip."

Artemis's lips warped into a wry smile. "That's what I presumed, although I couldn't be sure." He cast a glance at me. "Last night...when I saw you...that's when I knew. I stayed up and tried to find some information." He paused for a long minute. "You have wings."

I felt myself flush a deep red. "Ah...yeah. I do. Me and the rest of the Flock."

He turned to me. "The Flock?" The wry smile turned into a genuine one, filled with irony. "Clever."

I cleared my throat sharply, and he twisted back to the screen. "Erm, anyway," he continued. "I looked at the stars last night and I realized that they were faded. The rip is tearing apart the sky. It's opening up in other places." He stared at me. "I think that it is going to open up here." He pulled the mountains into view.

"Where's 'here'?" I asked.

"The Appalachian Mountains, in the United States of America."

Oh.

"That's a little..." I squirmed. "_Far."_

"I saw you fly," he insisted. "And I have a jet."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "You have a _jet?"_

"Of course. What other child genius doesn't?" He grinned and closed the laptop.

Leading the way out of the room, shiny black laptop under his arm, he left me only to follow him. He shut the door, placed all his weird locks on it, and walked quickly down the hall and back down the stairs.

"You're a genius?" I babbled. "I mean...you didn't mention that before, when you were acting all crazy?"

He winced. "I have a condition." He stopped us in mid-walk. Glanced around, although no one was in the living room at this point. I guessed they were touring the house. "It is called the Atlantis Complex. Side effects are Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, paranoia, multiple personality disorder, among other things."

"Multiple personality disorder?" I gaped. "Who's this other personality of yours?"

His face darkened. "Be glad you haven't met him." With that, he called throughout the house, "Mother, Father, we're back!"

It echoed emptily in the huge house, magnifying the sound to gargantuan proportions.

"Okay Arty, we're coming," Angeline called back loudly. Her high-heels clipped obnoxiously on the floors, followed by the sounds of plodding socks covering bare feet. I heard Mr. Fowl's dress shoes as well, a little less loud that his wife's, but loud enough.

They emerged around the corner, acompanied by the Flock, and another person.

A huge man, with a practically shaved head. Another suit, but his fit him and his big feet. He was a giant. But Angel was smiling, so I assumed he was okay.

"Max, meet Butler," Nudge laughed. "He's actually really nice!"

The big man - Butler - walked over to Artemis and clapped him softly on the back. However, the boy almost toppled forward, his hair coming loose and spilling in a shock over his eyes. "Artemis is my principle," he said in a surprisingly gentle voice. "I have to protect him." But he smiled warmly at me. "But I don't think you'll hurt him."

I smiled back, but I knew my eyes were cold. "I won't."

"Max, he won't hurt us," Gazzy scolded. "He hasn't yet, and he doesn't plan to."

Angel shook her head urgently. "Not at all, I promise."

"What are you kids talking about?" Mr. Fowl asked curiously.

"It's nothing," I mumbled.

Nudge seemed to notice that I was standing next Artemis, and shrunk back a little. "What were you guys doing?" she asked in a small voice.

Artemis shot a look at me. "Perhaps we should explain," he sighed.

I rocked back and forth on my feet. "Like how?"

He just nodded at my back. His eyes clearly said, _Tell them the truth. About the rip, and your wings._

I coughed. "I'm not sure..."

"I understood, and so will they," he hissed, gesturing to the assembled people. The Flock, with their sensitive raptor hearing, caught it, and all of their eyes widened, even Fang's.

Normally I was against showing anybody my wings at all, but I knew that if we were going to find out anything about this dimensional rip thing, then I'd have to cooperate.

"Fine," I sighed, and backed up a little. "Give me some space." I planted my feet firmly onto the floor and started to bring my wings out.

"Max, stop!" Fang growled. His eyes were blazing with fury. "You don't know what you're doing." He rushed over and took me by the shoulders. "What are you trying to prove?"

"There's something wrong here, Fang," I told him as forcefully as possible. "We're trying to tell you about it."

"How will telling them we're mutants help?" he demanded in a low voice.

I shook my head. "It'll just help them understand." I gently took his hands off of my shoulders. "Trust me."

We stood like that, hands intertwined, staring into each other's eyes. At last, he looked away and stepped back until he was with the others. "Go," he grumbled. "If you have to, I guess you should."

I smiled smugly at him and then repositioned myself. "Okay!" I said brightly. "Let's put on a show."

Then I snapped my wings out, almost knocking over a vase on the coffee table.

Mrs. Fowl screamed and leaned against Artemis Senior, who was looking pale as death. Butler had his hand inside his jacket, his free hand clenched. I had the feeling he was about to take out a weapon.

"Butler, don't," Artemis commanded, and stood in front of me, carefully evading my extended wings. "We can explain."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

**Maximum Ride**

"And so you see," Artemis finished, "we have to go to the Appalacian Mountains to meet the rip. We do not know what is causing it, but we plan to find out." He left the laptop open for scrutiny on the table in front of us. My wings were now folded against my back, so that I wouldn't distract the Fowls.

We had already told our story - all about the School and the cruel experiments that took place there. At least, in our dimension. We had discussed the Flyboy attack, and our appearance here in Ireland many times over. It always came back to the rip. Always.

"I believe that my Atlantis Complex gave me the images when our two dimensions intertwined," Artemis then went on. "The headache was the result of the dimensions clashing. Max did not receive the images, so I assume that it is the Complex at work."

Mrs. Fowl pursed her lips, casting a friendly but uncertain look at my Flock. "I see." She leaned in. "Arty, what happens if the rip takes you in?" Her eyes were somber. "I don't want to lose you."

He sighed. "Mother, the rip - unlike the black hole - is not designed to suck things in, only to transport things out. It is quite possible, but highly unlikely in this case." He slapped a palm onto the table right next to the laptop. "Please trust me."

She blinked. "Of course dear. But like I said, I worry about you. Your safety."

Artemis bristled angrily. "I know that as my mother you are concerned for my well-being, but I assure you I am perfectly fine. In fact, the Complex is _helping_ us now. Although I have a resigned grudge to it, I have to say that without it I do not know where we'd be."

"Artemis is right." I turned to see Iggy on his feet. Mr. and Mrs. Fowl weren't at all surprised at his blindness - apparently he had told them on the tour - and had been treating him normally. Except after, you know, the whole wings thing. "Even with the Flyboys and stuff, I still like our dimension better."

I nodded thoughtfully. "You know, it's funny that we're on the same planet and everything. Only that here, the School probably doesn't exist, and neither do we."

Artemis steepled his fingers. "You're on the right track. With dimensions, usually things are only _slightly_ different. Like I may still exist in your dimension, but I might instead be wearing a gray tie instead of a black one." He gestured to his tie. "Or perhaps I am sick, or still asleep. Maybe the time zones are different." He smiled grimly. "Although there is the chance that it is a totally different world, and the people have no idea that other dimensions are real."

"Who are we expecting to come out of that rip?" I asked. "Soy sauce loving giants or something?"

Artemis chuckled. "I highly doubt it, but it is definitely possible."

"Maybe we should bring some soy sauce," Gazzy laughed. Nudge smiled, and Angel giggled a little. Artemis only looked slightly amused.

"We are leaving tomorrow," Artemis went on, ignoring Gazzy's comment. "The Flock, Butler, Holly, and myself. With the assistance of Foaly, of course."

Mr. Fowl exchanged a look with his wife. "Artemis, we should tell Dr. Argon you're going away from home. I think he'd like-"

"We're not telling Dr. Argon," Artemis interrupted in a cruel tone. "I have no intentions of dealing with him."

Mrs. Fowl shook her head. "We're just thinking in your best interests, Arty," she sighed. "But whatever you say. We won't tell him, I promise."

He nodded sharply. "Right. I'll call Holly. We leave tomorrow morning at precisely nine A.M. I expect to arrive there at twelve, if we are on schedule." He nodded to me. "Would you like to meet her?"

I took a startled step back. "Meet who?"

He impatiently tapped his foot on the floor five times. "Holly, of course," he scoffed. Then he turned on his heel and started to walk out. "Coming?"

I glanced at the Flock. Fang's face was dark, but Nudge gave me a thumbs-up and a smile. I returned the grin and called back to Artemis, "Yeah."

Instead of walking up to his room again, he led me out through the back door. We stood there a minute while he took a deep breath and twisted something back and forth on his hand. Five times. After that he removed his anxious fingers and revealed a ring. It was on his index finger, which was weird, and he couldn't be engaged or married, so I wasn't sure what was supposed to happen.

"I'll turn up the volume so that you can hear," Artemis announced calmly, not at all worried like I had thought. He tapped the ring a few times and on the last tap, I heard an audible click.

I stared. "Is that a phone?"

He nodded. "Yes. I made it myself out of discarded fairy technology. Really quite useful."

"Fairy technology?" I blustered. "What are you talking about?"

He actually grinned at me. It looked kind of vampire-ish to me, and I shivered. "You'll see."

There were a few more clicks and then a voice crackled on the other end. "Artemis?"

Artemis coughed. "Yes, it's me. I have discovered something important, Holly. I think you should know what it is."

Holly's voice grew grim. "Is it about Opal?"

"No, no, it's something completely different."

_Who's Opal?_ I mouthed at Artemis, but he waved me off. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Are you at home?"

"Yes. We'll be waiting."

"_We'll?"_

Another cough. I detected a bit of nervousness in this one. "Ah, yes. We have some guests. They are part of the discovery." His voice changed suddenly, sounding both desperate and excited. "Hurry."

A sigh. "Fine. I'll be there in a few minutes. I was flying near Fowl Manor anyway."

_Flying?_ I thought. _Does she have wings, too? _Insanely creepy if she did. Artemis had done a very convincing job of pretending he hadn't seen a mutant before if she was like us.

"Good-bye."

"Bye, Artemis." She hung up. Artemis twisted the ring and everything fell silent.

"She will be right on time," he said. "She always is." Then he got all quiet and started inside. Even though I couldn't read minds, I knew what he was thinking - _Except for last night._

The Flock, Butler, and the rest of the Fowls weren't talking when we came back into the living room. They all watched us with wide eyes, unsure of the verdict.

"Holly will be arriving shortly," Artemis proclaimed. "She was already flying over Ireland when I called."

Mrs. Fowl nodded and then jumped to her feet. "I better clean up a little!" she exclaimed. "We don't want Holly coming to a dirty house."

Artemis rolled his eyes. "Mother, there isn't any need to-"

But she was already at it with a broom, sweeping everything that could be sweeped. Mr. Fowl sprang up to help her, but with less enthusiasm.

Just as I was starting to feel uncomfortable sitting down with the Flock and not doing anything, the doorbell rang loudly. We all jumped, but Mrs. Fowl just frowned.

"There are still toys all over the floor," she sighed regretfully. "Oh well."

Artemis straightened his tie and walked briskly to the door, throwing it open. "Holly," he greeted.

"Fowl," Holly's voice said back. I heard footsteps, and then she emerged. The entire Flock looked confused by the sight of Artemis standing next to her.

She had short, cropped brown hair, and was wearing a black jumpsuit. There was a weird-looking helmet - just like in Artemis's closet - under her arm, the exact same color as the jumpsuit. She couldn't have been more than four feet tall, but she had the stature of an adult.

The freaky part was her eyes. They were mis-matched, like an alley cat's. One brown and one light blue. And they were on opposite sides of Artemis's.

"Whoa," I said. "You guys have, like, identical eyes."

Artemis's mouth twisted. "Time travel incident," he explained. "Our eyes got switched."

Holly looked at him in shock. "What did you say?" she growled.

He winced at her fury, but he pointed at us. "Max, show her," he commanded.

I rolled my shoulders and shot a questioning and confused look at Holly. But before I could unfold my wings, Fang shook his head.

"No," he mumbled. "I'll do it." He glanced around to make sure there was enough room before unfurling his solid black wings.

Holly gasped and took a step back. She stared and stared, and I knew Fang was uncomfortable. I drew the attention away from him by snapping my wings out, too.

Another gasp. Nudge, Iggy, Gazzy, and Angel all revealed their wings until there was hardly any room left. And then Total decided to be a show off.

"Yeah, give a hand to the bird-kids," he grumped. Artemis's mouth dropped open, and Mrs. Fowl screamed again. Holly just shook her head, eyes boggling.

"Shut up," I told him, and then folded my wings against my back again. The others followed suit, smiling with the pleasure of stretching their wings.

"Artemis," Holly hissed. "There's a little something you forgot to mention..."

He flinched. "Yes," he mumbled. "Our guests have wings."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

**Maximum Ride**

The jet wasn't fun at all.

First, there was the whole "trapped-in-a-tin-can-of-death" thing. Second, we were on our way to meet a _dimensional rip_ in the mountains. And lastly, Artemis wouldn't let us fly outside the plane. How messed up is that? I mean, really. You'd think he'd be more considerate.

"We're almost there," Artemis announced, emerging from the cockpit.

I rolled my eyes and pointed to my forehead. "_Duh._ Inborn sense of direction, genius. Geez."

Holly carefully took a chip out of the bag I had brought from Fowl Manor. She eyed in unsurely before popping it into her mouth.

"Do fairies have that, too?" Gazzy asked eagerly. After Artemis had told us about the People, the Gasman had been all over Holly. Like a bad cough or something.

The elf tipped her head at the LEP helmet lying next to her on the seat. "No," she replied. She didn't like that we knew about her world, but it would have been hard to communicate if we had thought she was some kind of magical midget. "There's a GPS in the helmet."

"Ooh, fancy," I said, and crammed a few chips into my mouth.

Artemis totally ignored me and turned instead to Holly, giving her a slightly pained look.

"Calm down," I answered for Holly once I had swallowed my handful of chips. "We're about to land anyway. You could probably _see_ it opening at this point." With that, I plucked out another chip and tromped over to the door.

Sure enough, we started a tilt downwards.

"Congratulations passengers," Butler said into the plane's intercom. "You've survived the flight."

Artemis frowned at his bodyguard's unusual sense of humor. I laughed.

"Landing in three, two, one!" Angel cheered just as our ears popped. Minutes later we hit the ground. Fang's Coke spilled onto the table, but there were no other casualties.

"Ready, Flock?" I called. Nervous mutters greeted me. The excitement had suddenly turned to uncertainty.

Finally, Artemis responded. He wasn't part of the Flock, but he might as well have been. "We are ready, Max."

We rolled to a jerking stop. Everyone was instantly on their feet. As soon as Butler released the stairs, we were leaping down them, nearly tearing out wings out on the last step.

Holly had her helmet under her arm and her "wings" on her back. She looked ready to take to the air, too. Artemis was next to her, his eyes filled with a desperate hunger. He was definitely ready.

And so was I.

Almost as if I had summoned it, a stinging wind started up. I noticed, though, that none of the trees resting on the foot of the mountains were moving.

The only stretch of grass before the mountains started - the grass under our feet - was still.

Butler was the last out of the plane. As soon as he stepped on the ground, the wind got him, too. Startled, he looked around. Took in the stillness of our surroundings.

"It's the rip," Artemis informed.

We all looked ahead of us in anticipation.

There was a flash of white light.

* * *

><p><strong>The Hunger Games<strong>

It's the first morning of winter - the air is cold.

I hunt by myself today because it isn't yet Sunday, and Gale is laboring the mines. I remember my father: blown to bits in a mine explosion. I can only hope the same won't happen to Gale.

So far I've shot down three squirrels with my bow. I'm tempted to head back to Victor's Village - where Hunger Games victors stay - even though I've only been gone an hour or two. I want to see Prim, mostly.

Despite my good sense, I take up my squirrels and slip under the fence guarding District Twelve. As usual it isn't on, isn't sparking with electricity.

I head to my old home back in the Seam. Although my mother and Prim are completely settled into our new house in Victor's Village, I am keeping my personal things in the Seam.

Inside, I change into my gleaming, expensive shoes. My mother makes me wear them because of my "high status." I would rather be a nobody though. Anything besides a victor.

My fellow Victor, Peeta Mellark, is keeping a formal distance between us. I know somehow, though, that he still cares about me. I almost wish he didn't - then things would be so much easier.

I'm just entering Victor's Village when i bump into him. Peeta.

Gulping, I manage a stiff, "Hello."

He nods back, just as stiffly. "How are you, Katniss?"

"Fine. You?" I don't really care. I'm just being polite.

"Fine."

I rock back and forth on my heels. "Well, that's good." I step to the side, trying to evade him. Unfortunately, he moves the same direction.

Him movement shows a flash of blond hair behind him, and I catch a glimpse of a blue eye.

"Prim?" I ask, confused. "Is that you?"

My sister clears her throat and shuffles out from behind Peeta. She's only twelve, with light blond hair, radiant, kind blue eyes, and a very slim frame. Right now she looks guilty.

"Yes," she answers softly. "Hi Katniss."

Without looking at Peeta, I growl, "We're you sneaking out with my sister?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I see him shake his head. "No," he defends himself. "We were just going shopping. I was going to go by myself, but then she followed me. So I decided to take her with me."

I frown at Prim, but she's so hard to be angry at. "Were you trying to hide from me?" I ask her. But I'm just going through the motions. I know what she'll say, and I know she won't lie.

"No," she replies. "I was just playing around."

I feel myself soften. She's just a girl. A girl that almost lost her sister to the horrible Hunger Games. "Okay," I say. "That's what I thought anyway."

She smiles at me in relief.

Out of instinct, I look around to see if there's anyone nearby. But Victor's Village, as usual, is empty except for us. Haymitch is mostly likely drunk, my mother is probably cooking, and so are Peeta's parents.

"We can all go shopping together," Prim suggests. I don't want to. Not with Peeta. And she knows this.

I'm just about to refuse and take Prim inside when a howling wind starts up, whipping my hair back behind me. Prim's hair is blowing out towards me, almost blocking her face from my view. But I can see the confusion clearly in her eyes, as well as Peeta's.

That's when I notice that the fall leaves scattered around us aren't moving. They're as still as if we weren't even there. Us or the wind. The trees are still as well, unmoving branches, unmoving, browning leaves on them.

"What's happening, Katniss?" Prim almost wails, groping for my hand. Behind her, Peeta shivers.

"I don't know," I say, loud enough to be heard over the wind. I try to take a step forward, get a better look at Victor's Village, still as stone. But the wind abruptly changes direction, now blowing towards me. I have time for a startled cry before I'm bowled back into Prim, who screeches and then falls on Peeta. I brace myself for a hard landing, but I'm instead met by a harsh light, so clean and white that it burns my eyes.

The next thing I know, I'm tumbling face first into cold yellow grass, Prim landing on one side, Peeta on the other. I feel as though I've been run over by the Capitol's tribute train and then forced to get up and pull it all the way to District Four, as far out west as I know.

I'm so tired I can't even moan.

It takes a while for me to register the voice that's obviously meant for me. It sounds slurred at first, but when I bother to listen, I can understand it.

"Are you okay?" It's a girl's voice. A young girl. Younger than Prim. "Hello?"

"Angel, calm down. Give them a minute." Now a boy, maybe my age. He has a quiet voice, but a commanding one.

I summon all of my strength and work myself shakily to a standing position. I have to see these people. I hope - for their own sakes - that they haven't harmed Prim.

When my eyes flutter wearily open, I'm greeted with a strange and slightly unsettling sight.

There are nine people assembled in front of me, as well as a little black dog. I've never been near one before, but I try not to stare. Not, of course, that it would mind.

The closest to me - only a few feet away - is a little girl with curly, adorable blond hair and innocent blue eyes. She reminds me of a younger Prim. Except with cleaner, nicer clothes.

With his hand on her shoulder is a teenage boy wearing all black. His hair is shaggy and black as well. He's not smiling.

Next to him stands a girl about his same age, with dark brown eyes and blond hair. her arms are crossed protectively over her chest.

The next in the group is a chocolate-skinned girl about Prim's age. She has a hopeful, tender smile on her face.

Then there's a tall, skinny boy with fair hair and milky eyes. He is clearly curious, but trying to look uninterested. He's the same age as the dark boy, I can tell.

A young boy who looks about eight is next. He's a slightly older clone of the youngest girl. They have to be related.

Then there is another teenage boy, but he is in a crisp suit. His raven hair contrasts his single blue eye. The other is a hazel brown. This boy's eyes rake over me hungrily, taking in my tired eyes and my hair, which must look absolutely wild to him. I self-consciously turn to the next in line.

It's a girl, but with the body of a woman. She's wearing a tight black jumpsuit, and there's a strange round helmet positioned under her arm. She has hair the same color as one of her eyes - hazel. The other one is blue, like the boy before her, only on opposite sides. But what unnerves me are her pointed ears. I shiver and nearly start running when I see the very last person.

A huge, towering man. His head is nearly shaved, and his eyes are piercing and dark. He wears a suit, just like the hungry-looking boy.

Next to me, Prim stirs and mumbles exhausted, inaudible words. I turn sharply away from the group and help her to her feet. Her eyes are glazed, but she blind a few times and they clear considerably.

I see that Peeta is on his feet now, too, gazing dumbly at the small crowd of people. Prim's eyes flicker around as well, taking in our situation.

"I am glad to see that you're awake," the suited boy says. His voice shows none of the desperation in his eyes. It is calculating, serious.

I don't know what to say, but Peeta slowly nods. "Where are we?" he demands. "Who are you?"

The girl from before, the one with her arms crossed and with the blond hair steps forward. "My name is Max," she says. "And you're standing on planet Earth. The U.S. to be exact." There's a smug note to her voice, like she thinks it's funny.

I blink. "I know we're on Earth," I mumble. "We were here all along, weren't we? District Twelve is on Earth." I don't ask about the "U.S." part. I'm not sure if they would tell me.

"District Twelve?" the dark boy asks. "What's that?"

"You're standing on it, I think," I whisper. My voice is hollow with shock. because I recognize one of the trees far behind him. I set snares on it often, because it attracts so many squirrels. It looks so...young now.

They all shuffle their feet and look underneath them.

Peeta gapes, as shocked as I am. Prim is a sickly pale color.

"Please," she finally says. "What happened? How did we get here? Where's District Twelve?" Her voice cracks. I grab her hand.

"First, why don't you tell us your names," the Max girl offers. It's not a question, but a masked command.

Peeta blinks a few times before answering in a confused voice, "I'm Peeta. That's Prim. And that's Katniss."

It's like my already tired body has been struck by lightning. A terrible pain shoots through my head and a hiss escapes through my teeth. My vision fogs, but then abruptly clears again.

The girl named Max has her fingers urgently rubbing her temples, teeth gritted. I wonder if she felt the pain, too.

I'm instantly distracted by a loud scuffling. I see the suited boy stumble backwards, his eyes squeezed shut and his entire body shaking. He trips over a knotted bit of grass and falls. but before he makes contact with the ground the huge man rushes up and catches him.

"Artemis?" he asks, his voice surprisingly concerned and gentle for his size. the short girl with the pointed ears runs up and quickly examines him.

In the middle of her check-up he moves; lurches to his feet. His different-colored eyes are glassy, but somehow he manages to say something.

"Next stop," he says, "San Francisco." Then he starts to stagger towards the woods.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay, now both Infiltration and the Crossover have five chapters! I is excited! XD I'd like to know what you guys think, so please review. :D<strong>

**And thanks for all your support, Faves, Story Alerts - everything. I love you guys! :D**


	6. An Announcement

**All the apologies, I'm so sorry everyone. Things have gotten a little crazy in RL, that's my only excuse. Sorry.**

**I have some good news and some bad news, pardon the cliche. I'll give you the bad news first.**

**I am discontinuing The Crossover. PLEASE CONTINUE READING, even though I know you might want to stop right now. I will no longer be adding chapters, and there will be no more book recs. Sorry, everyone, but this story, despite how much I love it, would end up dragging on and on, going nowhere for a long time, with essentially the same thing happening in every chapter, albeit with new additions. It doesn't seem right to me anymore. I'm not taking this story down, however, I'm leaving it up for you all to be able to go back and look at it if you want.**

**The good news, however, is very good indeed. Although I am discontinuing **_**this**_** Crossover, I am beginning another one, very similar. I will no longer be taking book recs (or recs for anything else, really), I'm sorry, but I'm afraid it'll get to be too much for me, in the end. Instead, I'll be picking several of the series' in this story, and adding some TV shows, and maybe a couple of movies. It depends. Now, to explain the idea of this further.**

**Instead of one big long story, the re-worked Crossover will be made into several different parts. Those parts will involve little crossovers between the books, shows, etc., and lead up to the big Crossover. This will lessen the amount of long chapters involving introductions, which, although fun, drag on a good deal and contribute very little in the long run.**

**Anyway, each of these little (not really little, but you know what I mean) crossovers will involve two or three of the books/shows/movies each, and allow me to write some of my favorite crossovers while contributing to The Crossover at the end of it all. I'm really quite excited. These crossover peices will vary in length, theme, etc., and more than likely a few fandoms will have more crossovers than others.**

**I will write each of these peices one at a time, and try my hardest to update them once a week. I promise to be very good at keeping at least five chapters ahead of myself, so I don't stop updating forever again.**

**In the end of it all, this means that, altogether, The Crossover will be longer, make more sense, and be easier and more fun to read and write. Thank you, and I look forward to showing you all what I've got.**

**- hiholly**


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